The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Charles A. Lindbergh (book)
Billy Wilder (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 April 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

The Story Behind the Story of Lindbergh's Incredible Flight to Paris!

Plot:

Charles 'Slim' Lindbergh struggles to finance and design an airplane that will make his New York to Paris flight the first solo transatlantic crossing.

Plot Keywords:

Transatlantic | New York | Aviation | Pilot | Ireland

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

James Stewart	...	Charles Augustus 'Slim' Lindbergh
Murray Hamilton	...	Bud Gurney
Patricia Smith	...	Mirror Girl
Bartlett Robinson	...	Benjamin Frank Mahoney, President Ryan Airlines Co.
Marc Connelly	...	Father Hussman
Arthur Space	...	Donald Hall, Chief Engineer Ryan Airlines
Charles Watts	...	O.W. Schultz, Salesman Atlas Suspender Co.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording) | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:U | Finland:S | West Germany:6 | USA:Approved (certificate #17794)

Filming Locations:

Guyancourt, Yvelines, France

Company:

Billy Wilder Productions

Trivia:

Charles Lindbergh wanted Anthony Perkins to play him in the movie.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: On his approach to St. John's, Newfoundland in the fog, Lindbergh is depicted as being concerned about colliding with a mountain peak. However, there is no even remotely mountainous terrain anywhere in the vicinity of St. John's.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Reporter: [checking his copy] Here at the Garden City Hotel, less than a mile from Roosevelt Field... less than three-quarters of a mile from Roosevelt Field... everyone is waiting, as they have been now for seven days and nights, waiting for the rain to stop...

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Spirit of Independence

Good entertainment.

I have watched this film several times over the years and always find it an entertaining experience. As a retired airline pilot, I am interested in most aviation movies and this is one of the better ones. I know that Lindbergh was only 25 years old at the time of his historic solo flight to Paris and that James Stewart was almost 50 when making this movie but I can overlook that fact because Stewart has always been one of my all-time favorite actors and does one of his usual outstanding performances as the "lone eagle".

There is a good mixture of comedy and drama throughout the film and a good use of flashbacks. It also helps that James Stewart was a pilot in real life both in the military and civilian life.